Railway-crossing



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

S. J. AUSTIN. RAILWAY onossme.

No. 550,770. I Patented Dec. 3, 1895.

ANDREW BEHAHAM.PHOTO-LITNO.WASHINGTON 0c (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

s. J. AUSTIN, RAILWAY .cnossme.

P at'nted Dec. '3, 1895. 4

iir

(o V E L @175, zert 7 %5 NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

STEPHEN J. AUSTIN, or TERRE HAUTE, INDIANA.

RAILWAY-CROSSING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 550,770, dated December 3, 1895.

Application filed T111188, 1894. Serial No. 513,890. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, STEPHEN J. AUSTIN, of Terre Haute, in the county of Vigo and State of Indiana, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Railroad-Crossin gs, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My invention relates to that class of railway-crossings in which two crossing lines,

laid at any angle to each other desired, are arranged with pivoted sections of one track in the crossing, which section is adapted to be turned on its pivots, so as to permit of the passage of a train on a continuous track without interference with the rails of the remaining track; and my invention has for its obj ect to provide a means for lowering the pivoted rail-sections when they are thrown out of line, so that they are below the level of the track on which the train is passing and cannot in any manner interfere with the passage of the train; and my invention consists in features of novelty hereinafter fully described, and pointed out in the claims.

Figure I is a top view or plan illustrating my improvement in railwaycrossings. Fig. II is a vertical section taken through one of the tracks on line II II, Fig. I, and illustrates the remaining track and one of its pivotal rail-sections in side elevation. Fig. III is a vertical section taken on line III III, Fig. I, and shows in section the pivotal connection of the pivoted rail-sections. Fig. IV is a top view of one of the incline tracks upon which the rollers in the ends of the pivoted rail-sections ride. Fig. V is a side elevation of one of the incline tracks and shows in section the pivoted rail-section when in position for a train to pass over it and shows in dotted lines the said pivoted rail and its roller in passage along the incline, at the end of which movementthe top surface of the pivoted railsection is brought to a level with the other track. Fig. VI is a section taken on line VI VI, Fig. I, through one of the pivoted rails and through the end of one of the bars that pivotally connects the two pivoted rails together.

Referring to the drawings, 1 1 represent the rails of an unbroken track, mounted upon and secured to sleepers 2. The track formed by the rails I I is unbroken, and my invention has relation to the means of providing a crossing in the track which crosses it at any angle desired, and the arrangement of which crossing I will now describe.

3 3 represent the rigid rails laid at any angle desired to the rails 1, and the ends of which rigid rails abut against the outer sides of the rails 1 and are cut away, as clearly shown in Fig. II, to allow seats 3 for the ends 4 of pivoted rail-sections 4, thereby forming a smooth and unbroken surface onto and of of the pivoted sections 4: and also leaving the rails 1 without any breaks in them, as is usual, for the flanges on the car-wheels to run in.

' 5 represents metal or other suitable plates secured to the sleepers 2 and provided on their upper surfaces with inclined tracks 6, having their highest portions just beneath the ends of the pivoted rail-sections i when such sections are in position for the passage of a train over the track to which they belong.

J ournaled in vertical recesses 4 near the ends of the rail-sections 48.113 rollers 7, arranged so as to project slightly below the base of the rail-sections and to travel upon the incline track 6 and to be seated in a recess 8 in the surface of the incline track when the rail-sections 4, are in use, and when it is desired to move a train over the rails 1, the pivoted rail-sections 4 are moved into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. I, the rollers 7 traveling in said movement upon the incline track 6, as indicated in dotted lines, Fig. I, until the position illustrated in dotted lines at the left hand in Fig. V is reached, the rail-section 4 then having dropped down until its upper surface is even with the upper surface of the rail 1; the movement of the central portion of the pivoted railsection 4 being allowed by the loose connection of the pivot, which is illustrated in Figs. II and III, where the construction of the pivot is plainly shown. This pivot consists of an extension 9, formingapart of or secured to the rail-section 4-, which passes through and has bearing in a plate 10, secured to the sleeper, the said extension being secured in place by a flange-nut 11 on its lower end, which bears upon the under surface of the sleeper around the projection 9.

It will be plainly seen that the track com posed by the rails 1 is always as smooth as it is outside of the crossing,and the rail-sections 4 and rails 3, being in line when a train moves over them, are higher than the rails 1, and thus asmooth track is provided over them without any interference with the rails 1.

The pivoted rail-sections 4 are pivotally connected through means of bars 12,connected to the flanges of said rail-sections by means of bolts 13, so arranged as to allow the railsections 4 to be moved simultaneously in the movement of one section through means of bars 14, provided with pivotal connection with the bar 15, so that when the bar 15 is moved, either by hand or by the passage of a train, as may be desired, the rail-sections 4 are thrown in the desired direction.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination of the centrally pivoted rail sections having vertical recesses near the ends thereof, the rollers mounted in the said recesses so as to project slightly below the base of the rail-sections, and the inclined tracks; substantially as described.

2. In a railway crossing, having pivoted rail sections, the combination of rollers in said sections, a track on which said rollers are adapted to travel, and recesses in said track for said rollers; substantially as described.

3. In a railway crossing, the combination of a centrally pivoted rail section provided with rollers for the support of the ends of said sections, an inclined track on which said pivoted sections are carried to a lower level than the main track, and recesses in said inclined track for the reception of said rollers, whereby the pivoted sections are held in line with the main rails; substantially as described.

STEPHEN J. AUSTIN.

In presence of A. M. EBERsoLE, S. KNIGHT. 

